Sangeetha Sivakumar, Saraswati Vaggeyakara Trust

Sangeetha Sivakumar - R K Shriram Kumar - Poongulam Subramanian - S Karthik

Saraswathi Vaggeyakkara Trust & Narada Gana Sabha, NGS Mini Hall
24th April 2007. 6:45 pm
Sri Thyagaraja Jayanthi

vidulaku mrokkEdA - mAyAmALavagOwLa - Adi (short sketch, NS)
vAcAmagOcaramE - kaikavasi - Adi
bhaktuni cAritramu vinavE - bEgaDa - Adi (RS)
raghuvIra raNadhIra - husEni - rUpakam
yajnAdulu - jayamanOhari - Adi
endu dAginADO - tODi - misra cApu (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
ennagA manasuku - nIlAmbari - Adi
tava dAsOham - punnAgavarALi - Adi
jayamangaLam nitya shubhamangaLam - ghaNTA - kaNDa cApu

The short skech of mALava gaULa gave a good start. The kriti was rendered nicely with neraval and svarams at 'kamalA gaurI vAgIsvarI vidhi'. The bEgaDa AlApanai was very nicely rendered by Smt Sangeetha. Sri Shriram Kumar's reply was amazing. The kriti was rendered with quick round of svarams. The husEni kriti was nice. The main tODi AlApanai was extensive by the vocalist and the violinst. The kriti couldnt get heavier. It was rendered with all its grandeur, with neraval and svarams at 'alanADu kanakakashipu niNDAru'. The nIlambari piece was nicely rendered as well. The ghaNTA mangaLam was good and a welcome change, from the usual saurAshTram piece.

Smt Sangeetha gave a very classical concert with pieces which are quite endangered in concert circuits. Sri Shriram Kumar was good in all parts and gave good support. Sri Subramanian was aggresive from the beginning. Sri Karthick was good. The tani was short and had only catusra naDai and a 8 Avarththana kOrvai.

K L Kaushik - Flute, Music Academy

K L Kaushik - Kaushik Sivaramakrishnan - S J Arjun Ganesh

Music Academy Mini Hall. HCL Concert Series
21 April 2007. 6:30 pm

entO prEma - suruTTi - Adi - TT (short sketch)
mEru samAna - mAyAmALavagauLa - Adi - T (short sketch, NS)
ennaDu nI krupa - vAcaspati - Adi - PSI (short sketch, NS)
sarasija nAbha - tODi - misra cApu - ST (RNS)
divAkara tanujam - yadukulakAmbhOji - Ekam - MD (short sketch)
padavini - sALagabhairavi - Adi - T
giripai nelakona - sahAnA - Adi - T (RS)
tani Avarththanam
parulanna mATa - kApi - rUpakam - DS
krishNA nI bEganE - yamunakalyANi - misra cApu - Vyasaraja
rAma baktha hanumAn - jOnpuri - Adi - Suguna Purushottaman
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T

The Flute Recital of Sri Kaushik was very classical and all pieces were very well rendered. The AlApanais of tODi and sahAnA were filled with classical phrases with all the necessary sancarams. The short sketches of mAyAmALavagauLa and vAcaspati were good as well. The rendition of the kritis, especially divAkara tanujam, was very moving. It was a very classical concert. Sri Kaushik is a man to watch out for, in future. He is definitely going to go places and earn a name for himself in the field of Music.

Sri Kaushik on the fiddle, was good in some parts. Sri Arjun Ganesh was very good in all parts of the concert and played very well according to the kritis. The tani was good as well.

Kalpakam Swaminathan, Nada Inbam

Kalpakam Swaminathan - Veena
S R Padmavati - Veena Support
Madirimangalam Swaminathan - Mrudangam

Nada Inbam, Raga Sudha Hall
20th April 2007. 6 pm
SVK Birthday Concert Series

vanajAkshi ninnE - kalyANi - aTa varNam
srI mahA gaNapathim - aTANA - Adi - JW
rAvE himagiri kumAri - tODi - Adi - SS
vaLLi nAyaka nIvE - shaNmukhapriyA - Adi - HMB
shankari nIvE - bEgaDa - rUpakam - Subbaraya Sastri (RS)
nIvE gAni - bilahari - misra cApu - T (RS)
inkEvarunnAru - sahAnA - Adi - Annaswami Sastri (R)
visvanAthEna - sAmanta - misra cApu - MD (R)
naDaci naDaci - kharaharapriyA - Adi - T (RTNS)
tani Avarththanam
samayamidE rA rA - bEhAg - rUpakam - PSI jAvaLi
tillAnA - kApi - Adi - RSI
nADi tEDi - bhAgeshrI - thiruppugazh
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
madhyamAvati short sketch.

I reached the concert late, as Smt Swaminathan was wrapping up the bEgaDa AlApanai. The kriti was rendered with a nice round of svarams. Smt Padmavathi's bilahari AlApanai was good. The rare kriti was rendered beautifully with a round of svarams. The sahAnA AlApanai was very moving. The kriti was rendered well, with all the intricate sangatis and the grand cittai svaram. The sAmanta AlApanai and the kriti were nicely rendered.

The main kharaharapriyA AlApanai was nicely rendered. The tAnam was good as well. The kriti was rendered with a lot of nice sangatis and short neraval and a quick round of svarams. The short sketch of bEhAg and the jAvaLi were rendered well.

Smt Swaminathan gave a nice concert. Her AlApanais were crisp and the kritis were weightly rendered. Smt Padmavati was good in providing support. Sri Swaminathan played well with good anticipation.

A really enjoyable concert.

R K Shriram Kumar, NSTSS

R K Shriramkumar - Vocal
Mullaivasal G Chandramouli - Fiddle
J Vaidyanathan - Mridangam
Balaji - Tambura

Ranjani Kalaikkoodam, Nanganallur Sri Thyagaraja Sangeetha Samajam (NSTSS), Nanganallur, Chennai
19 Apr 2007 6:30 pm
Sri Syama Sastri Jayanthi

dayAnidhE mAmava (varnam) - bEgada - Adi (S)
pAhi shrI girirAjasutE - Anandabhairavi - rUpakam
ninnuvinaga mari - pUrvikalyANi - misra cApu (RNS)
dEvi brOva - cintAmaNi - Adi
janani natajanaparipAlini - sAvEri - Adi (R)
kAmAkshI (svarajati) - yadukulakAmbOji - misra cApu
nannu brOvarAdA - gauLipantu - misra cApu
sari yevarammA - bhairavi - kanDa jampai (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
mAyammA yani nE - Ahiri - Adi
karuNajUDa ninnunammina - srI - Adi
kAmAkshI lOkasAkshiNI (gItam) - madyamAvati - misra cApu

I was present in the almost full Ranjani Hall for this concert. To be truthful, i consider myself fortunate to have attended the concert.

The concert began with a nice rendition of the bEgaDa varNam and the anandabhairavi kriti, which followed was rendered with a lot of bhavam and the inspiring cittai svaram. Multiple charaNams were presented.

The pUrvikalyANi AlApanai was nice. The kriti was rendered with multiple caraNams and neraval and svarams at 'kAmitArtapala prdAyaki lalitE'. The cintAmaNi kriti was rendered soulfully. The sAvEri AlApanai was good, the kriti, which is said to be the first composition of Shyama Sastri, was rendered beautifully and was followed by a weighty rendition of the svarajati. The gauLipantu kriti was good.

The main bhairavi AlApanai was short and good. The kriti was rendered with all its grandeur with neraval and svarams at 'mAdhava sOdhari gaurI amba'. The Ahiri piece was nicely rendered. The srI rAgam and madhyamAvati pieces were both good as well.

Sri Shriram Kumar gave a nice concert with quite a few rare pieces and personal favourites. However, at places, his voice seemed to show strain, especially in the higher octave. It must have been a tight rope walk to sing Anandha bhairavi and bhairavi, sAvEri and gauLiapantu, srI rAgam and madhyamAvati in the same concert and get them all right.

Sri Chandramouli on the fiddle, was good in parts. Sri Vaidhyanathan was good in accompanying and his tani.

Manakkal Rangarajan, Music Club IIT Madras

Manakkal Rangarajan - M S Anantharaman - Manakkal Sriram

Music Club IIT Madras, DoMS 101
17th April 2007. 6:45 pm

slOkham "sukhlAm bharatharam vishnUm" - ravi candrikA (short sketch)
niravati sukada - ravi candrikA - Adi - T (NS)
ini namakOru kavalayum illai - bilahari - rUpakam - KI (short sketch)
shivam vrushabhArUDam - mOhana kalyANi - kaNDa cApu - HMB (RNS)
cEta srI - dvijAvanti - rUpakam - MD (RS)
anupama guNAmbudi - aTANA - kaNDa cApu - T (Time was 8:31 pm)
saraswati annayE - kharaharapriyA - PS (RS)
tani Avarththanam
kArthikai bAlanai - mAnd - Manakkal Varadarajan (R)
slOkham "krishna rekshAtumAm"
giridhara gOpalA hare krishna - yamunakalyAni - Manakkal Varadarajan
ayyE metha kaDinam - punnAgavarALi + kAmbOdhi- GKB
kARRu veLiyiDaik kaNNammA - kApi - bharathi (R)
tillAna - pUrnachandrikA - Adi - RSI
srI rAmachandranakkU - madhyamAvati - AK

I found it really interesting to hear ravichandrikA, bilahari and mOhanakalyANi back-to-back.

The ravicandrikA short sketch and the slOkam were good. The kriti was rendered with the usual vigour and round of svarams with nice patterns. The short sketch of bilhari was nice and the kriti, was nicely rendered. The mOhanakalyANi AlApanai was good. Contrary to what rajesh says, i could not find it slipping into any thing else. I have heard him sing the same piece at carnatic last year. He rendered it very well, with an elaborate round of neraval and svarams.

The dvijAvanti AlApanai was very outstanding. I was expecting him to take up, the quicker, akhilANDEsvarIm. However, his cEta srI was amazing. The svarams which followed were really good as well.

I had to leave as he began the kharaharapriyA.

Sri Rangarajan was in full form and made it a very good and memorable evening for me. Sri Ananatharaman, was very good in accompanying. The old veteran was to the point in all his replies. Both of them were very innovative and creative, and yet well within the sampradaya suddham.

Both Sri Rangarajan and Sri Anantharaman, were showing the musical capablities and the power of the practice (sAdakam) which has gone down in their 70+ years of concert experience. Age or Health Problems might have reduced their energy or reflux timings or anything else. However, the music is still very melodious and free flowing.

Smt Padma Rangarajan provided good vocal support. The tara - mandara sthAyI combinations of Smt & Sri Rangarajan need to be mentioned. Sri Sriram on the mrudangam was good in accompanying the kritis. I couldnt stay for his tani.

R Vedavalli, Nada Inbam

R Vedavalli - Sumitra Vasudev (vocal support) - Embar S Kannan - Manoj Siva - S Karthick

Nada Inbam. Raga Sudha Hall
16th April 2007. 6 pm

nEra nammiti - kAnaDA - aTa - RSI (short sketch)
chintayE mahAlinga mUrtim - paras - Adi - MD (S)
nijamuga rAmA - kIravANi - Adi - RSI (RNS)
caraNam caraNam - asAvEri - misra cApu - AK
mAmava satatam - jaganmOhini - Adi - T
eTula brOtuvO - cakravAham - misra cApu - T (S)
rAgam tAnam pallavi - shankarAbharaNam - Adi (2 kaLai) 3/4 eDuppu
"manda hAsa vadanA, harE krishnA" rAgamAlika tAnam in rItigowLa, srI rAgam
tani Avarththanam
kalyANOllAsa sImA - slOkam in sAvEri, varALi, nIlAmbari, sindhubhairavi
dAsara nindisabEda - tilang - Adi - T
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
swasti prajAbhya paripAlayantAm - madyamAvati

Smt. Vedavalli gave a very classical concert which was a fitting tribute to the late SVK on his birthday. She remarked that she has sung on most of his birthdays and would present some of his favourite compositions in the concert.

The concert started off with a short sketch of kAnaDa and the varNam. The brisk paras kriti set the mood of the concert and had a fitting round of svarams to follow. The kIravANi AlApanai (Smt Sumithra sang some parts of it in the higher octave) was very inspiring and had some really distinctive phrases. The kriti was rendered very well with some inspiring neraval and svarams at 'vasudalO nIdu vara bhaktalaku'.

The rendition of the asAvEri kriti was filled with bhAvam. The jaganmOhini kriti, a favourite at her concerts, was rendered well also. The cakaravAkam kriti and the svarams that followed were good as well.

The main shankarAbaraNam AlApanai was very well rendered, but for a few throat problems in the tAra sthAyI. It was a very classy AlApanai with many inspiring phrases interwoven. The tAnam was nice as well. A Pallavi was an added bonus. I had been feeling the absence of pallavis in concerts i attend, for a few months now! The Pallavi was rendered very well.

Sri Kannan on the Fiddle gave fitting replies to the main artist and followed her like a shadow as and when the occasion demanded. Sri Manoj Siva and Sri Karthick handled the percussion department very well.

I had to leave as she started with the dhurita kAla svarams.

S Poorna Pragna Rao, Music Club IIT Madras

S Poorna Pragna Rao - Kandadevi S Vijayaraghavan - Chidambaram S Balashankar

Music Club IIT Madras
10 April 2007 6:45 pm

vanajAkshirO - kalyANi - Adi - RSI (S)
srI gaNapathini - saurAshTram - Adi - T
entha bhAgyamu - sArangA - Adi - T (RS)
sabhAptikku - AbhOgi - rUpakam - GKB
gurulEkha - gauri manOhari - kaNDa cApu - T (RNS)
ennEramum - dEvagAndhAri - Adi - GKB (R)
aparAdhamula - latAngi - Adi - PSI (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
jO achutAnanda - kApi - Adi - A (R)
kanaka saila - punnAgavarALi - Adi - SS (R)
parimaLa ranganAtam - hamvIr kalyANi - rUpakam - MD (R)
teliyalEru rAmA - dhEnukA - Adi - T
mAyammA - Ahiri - Adi - SS (R)
tillAnA - khamAs - Adi
srI kamalAmbikE - srI rAgam - kaNDa Ekam - MD

It was rather differently planned concert. Probably the main artist had to change the concert plan, right there on stage to make-up for something else. It was quite nice to see somebody take up gauri manOhari for submain and also, to hear kalyANi, sAranga, latAngi, hamIr kalyANi in the same concert is definetely a different thing.

R Vedavalli, IMScCA

R Vedavalli - V Sumithra (Vocal Support) - Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi - Manoj Siva

IMSc Cultural Association. Ramanujan Auditorium, IMSc Campus
9th April 2007. 5:30 pm

vanajAksha ninnE - rItigauLa - aTa tALam - Veenai Kuppaiyer
bhuvinidAsuDanE - srI ranjani - Adi - T (S)
mEru samAna - mAyAmALavagauLa - dEsAdi(2) - T (RNS)
nIlOtpalAmbikayAh kaTAkshitOham - kannaDa gauLa - Adi(2) - MD
yArukkAgilum bayamA - bEgaDa - misra cApu (R)
pavanAtmaja - nATTai - kaNDa cApu - MD
ninnuvinA marigaladA - AbEri - tisra Ekam - SS
UrakE galguna - sahAnA - misra cApu - T (R)
mAmava satatam - jagan mOhini - Adi(2) - T
marivErE dikkevarayya rAmA - shanmukhapriyA - Adi - PSI (RNS)
tani Avarththanam
kulam tarum selvam tandiDum - Thiru mangaiyazhvar Pasuram - kAmbhOji, sAvEri, senchuruTTi, nIlAmbari
lAliyUgavE - nIlAmbari - tisra Ekam - T
tillAnA - khamAs - Adi - Ammasathiram Kannuswami Pillai
nI nAma rUpamulaku - saurAshTram - Adi - T
svasti prajApya - madhyamAvati.

The concert began with a short sketch of rItigauLa and the varnam was rendered beautifully. The srIranjani kriti was rendered with a quick round of svarams. The AlApanai of mAyAmALavagauLa was very moving and the kriti was rendered with all its grandeur and with elaborate neraval and svarams at 'gaLamuna shObhillu kanaka bhUSaNamula' and it was very enjoyable.

The kannaDa gauLa kriti which came next was very inspiring and rendered in a moving fashion. The flavour of kannaDa gauLa as a slow ragam was completely portrayed and it was quite interesting to listen to the rAgam in a slow fashion in contrary to the fast paced renditions of popular kritis in the rAgam. The bEgaDa AlApanai was very beautifully elaborated. Some of the phrases were very inspiring and one particular glide all along the avarOhaNam just stole the show. The piece rendered was very beautiful.

To hear a nATTai piece in the middle of a concert, was quite a thing. It was nothing less than enjoyable. Next in line, was the Shyama Sastri kriti in AbhEri, which was rendered very nicely. The elaborate sahAnA AlApanai was very indicative of main piece. It was rendered very nicely, and the kriti, a rare piece, was rendered in a fashion which made one expect neraval and svarams. However, the jaganmOhini piece which came next was even more beautiful.

The main shanmukhapriyA AlApanai was very elaborate. Some of the sancarams were very leisurely rendered and made very enjoyable of the listener. I was personally expecting a pallavi. It was very surprising to hear marivErE as a main item of a concert. The neraval and svarams at 'sannutaanga shree venkaTesha neevu
nannu brOvakayunduta nyayamaa' were very elaborate and the korappu alternatively to the thArasthAyi and madhyasthAyi rishabam was very nice. The rAgamAlika pAsuram, the lali kriti and the tillAnA were all good also.

Smt Vedavalli gave a very classical concert. It was announced be to a 2 hour concert, however Smt Vedavalli sang for just beyond 3 hours and it as a very blissful experience to hear her sing, in what could arguably be one of the best Auditoria in the city. She was ably assisted by Smt Sumithra who shared some parts of the shanmukhapriyA and sahAnA AlApanais.

Smt Vijayalakshmi on the Violin was very good and gave fitting replies to the main artist. Sri Manoj Siva was very accomodative and played with amazing anticipation. The tani was good.

Kalpakam Swaminathan, Chamber Concert

Kalpakam Swaminathan - L Ramakrishnan (vINai support) - Thanjavur Kumar

Chamber Concert.
7th April 2007. 5 pm

enthO prEma - suruTTi - Adi - TT (R)
srI mahAgaNapatim - aTANA -Adi - Jayachamraja Wodeyar (RS)
AnandEsvarENa - Anandabhairavi - misra cApu - MD (RS)
srI satyanArAyaNam - subha pantuvarALi - rUpakam - MD (R, Tanam)
bruhannAyakI - AndhALi - Adi - MD
venkaTAcalapatE - karnATaka kApi - Adi - MD
hATakEsvara - bilahari - rUpakam - MD (R)
srI dum durgE - srI ranjani - kaNDa Ekam - MD
narasimhA Agacca - mOhanam - misra cApu - MD (RS)
visvanAtEna - sAmanta - Adi - MD (R)
vEnkaTa saila vihArA - hamIrkalyANI - Adi - Subbaraya Sastri(R)
ganEsha kumAra - senchuruTTi - catusra Ekam - MD (R)
siddIsvarAya - nIlAmbari - misra cApu - MD (R)
dharmasamvardhanI - madhyamAvati - rUpakam - MD (R)

It was a priviledge to be part of this chamber concert, featuring one of the senior most vidushis on the vINai. Smt Swaminathan played a very inspiring concert, and was ably supported by her disciple, Sri Ramakrishnan on the second vINai and Sri Kumar on the mrudangam. All her AlApanais were crisp and showed the essential sancarams and pidis. There was no un-wanted frills or anything diluting the high level of classical music in the concert.

The concert began with a short sketch of suruTTi and the varNam. The aTANA AlApanai and the kriti were rendered beautifully with a nice round of svarams. The Anandabhairavi AlApanai began with a beautiful phrase and was elaborated nicely, to be followed by the thiruvarur pancha linga kriti. The subhapantuvarALi tAnam on the vINai was nothing less than mesmerising. All those present were indeed very touched by the tAnam. The kriti was rendered in a moving fashion. The AndhALi and karnATaka kApi pieces which came next were good.

The bilahari AlApanai was touching. The kriti, another of the thiruvarur pancha linga kritis series, was rendered well. The srI ranjani kriti which followed was rendered nicely. The main mOhanam AlApanai was very classical. The kriti was rendered with a round of svarams at the pallavi line. Sri Kumar chose to not play his tani Avarththanam and requested Smt Swaminathan to continue. The sAmanta AlApanai, a rarity by itself, and the kriti were good.

The hamIrkalyANi and the kriti, came as a surprise, as one was expecting some lighter pieces leading to the end of the concert. However, none of the pieces which followed were less-heavy. The senchuruTTi piece was amazing. The nIlAmbari AlApanai with a distinct usage of the bhAshAnga nishAdam and the kriti, yet another of the thiruvarur pancha linga kritis series, were very nice. One was expecting the concert to finish, with a short sketch of madhyamAvati, however, it was a full AlApanai and how can an AlApanai not have a kriti to follow? The kriti was rendered nicely.

If one closes one's eyes and listens to the music of Smt Swaminathan, one is bound to think beyond where one is sitting, who is playing and what the time is and all such wordly questions. It takes you to another world where there is nothing else, but good music and thats all. Probably you can call it mesmerising (or may be a better word), for the music by default makes you enjoy it and not think of anything else.

Vasundhra Rajagopal, Music Club IIT Madras

Vasundhra Rajagopal - Usha Rajagopalan - Nellai Balaji - N Rajaraman

Concert of Arunachala Kavi's Rama Nataka Kritis
Music Club IIT Madras. 2nd April 2007. 6:45 pm

avatAram seidiDuvIrE - jOnpuri - Adi
yArO ivar yArO - bhairavi - Adi
rAmanukku manan muDi tarittAlE - hindOLam - Adi
eppadi manam tuNindadO - husEni - misra cApu
kANa vENDum laksham kaNgaL - suruTTi - Adi
yArendru rAghavanai - yadukula kAmbhOji - Adi
sAmi Edaiyya indha vEdanai - yamuna kalyANi - Adi
kONDALE sAmi mOdiram - danyAsi - Adi
ennaiyum vara sonnArO - maNirangu - Adi
enna seivEn sAmi - nIlAmbari - Adi
shObanam solla vandEn - madhyamAvati - Adi
mangaLam slOkam depicting rAma paTTabhishEkam - madhyamAvati

the concert was good. the theme was well handled. the pieces were all carefully chosen to have a set of some known popular pieces and some rare pieces. the main danyAsi was nice.